ISSUES AND CONCERNS ಸಮಸ್ಯೆಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ಕ್ಷಕಿರಣ

Daughter Couldn’t make ‘gol roti’ & Paki kills her Lahore: A Pakistani man has been handed down the death penalty by a court here for killing his 12-year-old daughter last year because she did not make ‘gol roti’. An Additional District and Sessions judge gave the death penalty to Khalid Mehmood, who murdered his daughter and then dumped the body outside a hospital here. Additional District and Sessions Judge Asghar Khan, after hearing arguments from both sides, stated that such an individual cannot be pardoned who murdered his daughter in cold-blood over a minor dispute. According to the prosecution, the convict registered an FIR, claiming his daughter might have been abducted as she had gone out to buy some food but did not return. Later, the Shadbagh police learnt the girl found dead outside Mayo Hospital was actually killed by her father for not making ‘gol roti’ (round bread). After the police arrested the girl’s father and brother Abuzar, they confessed they had th...

Monkey causes 20 deaths TRIPOLI : More than 20 people were killed in fighting between rival tribes in southern Libya, a medical official said, in violence reportedly sparked by an incident involving a monkey.  Witnesses said several homes were hit by rockets and shells in the confrontation. Nasser al-Jehimi of the medical centre in Sebha said 21 people were killed and around 100 others injured in clashes in the city between Awled Suleiman tribal members and the Guedadfa tribe of Libya's toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi. The casualty toll was for the Awed Suleiman tribe alone as information was not immediately available from another hospital being used for their rivals.  The cause of the fighting was unclear, but Libyan and social media said it erupted after a monkey belonging to one tribe attacked a child from the other camp. There was no official confirmation of the report. Salah Badr, a member of Sebha city council, declined to give specifics but noted that relat...

The Saints of Bengal Dr. M. V. Kamath My dear Gauri, In my last letter I wrote about the saints of Maharashtra. In this letter I want to tell you about some of the great saints of Bengal. Medieval devotionalism in Bengal differed from that in Maharashtra. Though the source was the same, the Bhagavata Purana, the stress in Bengal was on Krishna lila and prominence is given to Radha as in Jayadeva’s beautiful Gita Govinda written towards the end of the 12th century. There is a special reason for the difference between Maharashtrian and Bengali  devotionalism. Maharashtra was far away from Buddhist influence, whereas Bengal was not. Buddhism was sedate, had no pantheon of Gods but was rooted among the people because it was opposed to caste and all that it implied. The reaction of the Hindu Establishment lay in working out a system that would divert the people away from Buddhism. Thus was inaugurated the Bengal brand of devotionalism that spoke of the passionate love...

Friends, Can we say, we are euphoric? In a way yes, but in many ways it’s profoundly mixed. We have just completed this October our 16th year in print journalism, but it’s also our 200th edition, as we begin the journey towards the 17th milestone. So, there are reasons to feel satisfied. But it’s a struggle all the same. Looking back, it has been a trying journey but satisfying as well. It has seen its share of ups and downs, of rising cost and of not equally rising circulations. Of course, there are concerned individuals who want to see I&C growing. Hope their wishes turns out better in coming days. ISSUES&CONCERNS is a movement, more the participation, the better for all stake holders. Some of the souls and institutions need to be remembered as we look back in perspective of the distance covered. Late Dr. M.V. Kamath, a Padma Bhushan awardee, has been a pillar of strength for all the 14 years that his spirit was around. We remember his soul with deep reverence. Prof. B.M. H...

JAMMU & KASHMIR: In the latest issue of the S unday Magazine section of THE HINDU, there appeared a stunning piece of writing by Ashish Kaul, a media veteran. The title “The Stone Warriors” says it all. Quoting a 19 year old Shaheen Khan, a high school dropout from a village in West Kashmir, he writes “Every night we pray that there is no dawn. Lord, keep the Sun in your arms so that innocents are given another day of life. It is written in Kashmir’s destiny that peace be found only in darkness”. Indeed, it is a very poignant remark from a 19 year old youth, about the feeling of resignation to their fate in the ongoing restlessness in the valley. However, what debunks the theory propagated by Pakistan, Kashmiri separatists and of course by some Indian media men and women, is the statement of another youth, ‘villages in the valley march on the orders of terrorist leaders to throw stones and chant ‘azadi’; they risk their lives at the hands of security forces when they do and whe...

Focus (I&C- Oct. 2016) "RIO, DHYAN CHAND &TENDULKAR" The article is very good.         Ronald A Fernandes, President, Press Club, Mangalooru, Via Email In the article Rio, Dhyan Chand & Tendulkar in the latest issue of ‘ISSUES&CONCERNS’ the writer has rightly pointed out the politics of favouritism. It is everywhere in politics, sports, literature and other intellectual fields. It is due to this that hockey wizard Dhyan Chand, the unsung hero, died penniless while Tendulkar got all accolades with money and fame, besides the highest civilian award Bharath Ratna. What else he wants?     K. Sharada Bhat, Udupi. My comments on ISSUES & CONCERNS Quote- “I have been keenly reading the Magazine for few years. I find articles focused on the current burning issues affecting the nation. The presentations are frank, factual and forthright. In my opinion, the burning issues affecting the country, in order of priority, are population cont...

KASHMIR A QUESTION WITH NO ANSWER! JAYARAM SHRIYAN Mr. Veerappa Moily, a former Law Minister in the UPA II, wrote in Deccan Herald of 27th Nov 2002, an article “Beyond Democracy’s Moment of Glory - Keeping Promises in Kashmir”. In a moment of ‘introspective enlightenment’ he had this to say, “The Congress leadership right from 1947, has always surrendered its ego and shunned narrow political opportunism  in providing stable governments in J & K. This objective approach and display of sagacity are absolutely in tune with the legacy of the Congress Party right from the days of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Sonia Gandhi has to be commended for her enlightened and statesmanly approach, inspired by national spirit, in lending her support to heralding a vision of Kashmir”. Indians, in the know of things, recognise that Moily is a diehard Gandhi family loyalist (not to mistake with Mahatma Gandhi). That is how, he remembered to exclude Lal Bahadur Shastr...